Patent GB-441486-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to feeding biscuit shapes and the like from intermittent cutting mechanism to continuously travelling ovens or like conveyors
IPC: A21C9/08
Filed: 1934-07-17
Abstract: 441,486. Endless - belt conveyers. BAKER, G. R., KIRMAN, H., and BAKER PERKINS, Ltd., Westwood Works, Peterborough. July 17, 1934, No. 20928. [Class 78 (i)] In panning mechanism for biscuits of the kind in which a cutting-machine operates in conjunction with an intermittently travelling dough conveyer 5 which delivers the biscuits to a continuously travelling oven conveyer 15, a differential conveyer is provided between the cutter web and the oven conveyer to receive cut biscuits at the speed of the cutter web during intermittent movement thereof and discharge them to the oven conveyer at a speed corresponding to that of the oven conveyer. As shown, in Fig. 1, the differential conveyer comprises a reciprocating panner blade 16 driven from the cutting machine, and an endless apron 19 around the panner blade, driven continuously from the drum 30 of the oven conveyer 15 and also having an intermittent drive from the driving drum 9 of the cutter web 5 whereby the speeds of the apron during reception and delivery of biscuits correspond with those of the cutter web and oven conveyer respectively. The panner carriage 20 is reciprocated through levers 23, 22, 21, 13, by a crank mechanism 14 of the cutting machine, which mechanism also, through a pawl 12<a> on a lever 12 engaging a ratchet wheel 11 on a shaft 10, rotates the drum 9 so as to advance the cutter web 5 round a fixed blade 6 a distance equal to that between the front and rear rows of biscuits cut at each operation, during the intervals between the cutting operations. The drum 9 drives the drum 17 of the apron 19 through a gear wheel 24, an idler 25, and a gear wheel 26 loosely mounted on the shaft of the drum 17, a pawl on the wheel 26 engaging a ratchet wheel fixed to the drum 17. The drum 17 is also driven continuously from the drum 30 of the oven conveyer 15, through gearing which permits the drive of the drum 30 to the apron to be over-run by the intermittent drive of the drum 9, such as by gearing 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 which drives a ratchet wheel loosely mounted on the shaft of the drum 17, the ratchet wheel engaging a pawl carried by an arm on the drum 17. In operation, each batch of biscuits cut by the cutting machine is discharged over the knife edge 6 on to the apron 19, which is driven by the drum 9 at a speed corresponding with that of web 5. During the next cutting operation when the web is at rest, the drive from the drum 9 to the apron is idle but the apron is driven by the drum 30. In a modification, Fig. 3, the cutter web 5 passes round a reciprocating panner blade 142 which is operated through levers 64, 62, 61, 50 and cam 48 by a shaft 47 driven through bevel gearing by the crank-shaft of the cutting machine. The driving drums 9, 17 of the cutter web 5 and the apron 19 are driven from the crank disc 14 by links 66, 67 and pawls 68, 69 engaging respectively ratchet wheels 70, 71. The drive from the drum 30 of the oven conveyer 15 to the drum 17 is imparted by a chain 57 passing round sprockets 56 on a compensating carriage 55. This carriage together with the panner carriage 20 are operated through levers 51, 53, 52, 54, 49 and cam 48 by the shaft 47. When the panner carriage 20 is forward, ready to deliver a batch of biscuits on to the oven conveyer, the pawl 69 is lifted free of the ratchet 71 by a cam 77 driven from the shaft 47, so that the panning web 19 is driven at the speed of the oven conveyer by the chain 57. When the carriage 20 is fully retracted, the panner blade 142 is in its forward position ready to deposit biscuits from the web 5 to the web 19. The cam 77 now permits the pawl 69 to engage the wheel 71 and the compensating movement of the carriage 55 to the right takes up the continuous drive of the chain 57 so that the resultant travel at the drum 17 is zero, i.e. there is no drive of the sprocket 71 by the drum 30.